Attachable tractor for automobiles.



H. D; HAPEMAN.

ATTACHABLE TRACTOR FOR AUTOMOBILES. APPLlcAnoN FILED FEB. 16. |911.

Patented'ept. 4, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Sept. 4;, 191?.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. D. HAPEIWAN. ATTACHABLE TRA'cToR Fon AummolLEs.`

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I6. ISI?.

. y t M l A it OWG

lHARRY D. HAJPEMN, 0F LA 'G1-RANGE, ILLINOIS. y

. ATTCHAIBL TRACTOR FOR AUTOMOBILES.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it'- known that I, Y D. HAPEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at specification of etters Patent.

' application' mea February 1e. 1917. serial No. laaste..

La Grange, in the county of Cook and State vof Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachable 'lracf tors for Automobiles, of which the followout the necessity of removing any of the parts thereof, whereby toreadily and. quickly adapt anautomobile to agricultural uses and other such purposes.

Another object of my invention is to provide a self-contained tractor structure, com-- prising 'two' spaced-apart tractor units Aheld together by 'an intermediate frameor con# nector, which is capable of ready attachment to the rear axle of an automobile. Each said tractor carrying one or more trains of speedreducing trains of gearing to drive'the, tractor. Said tractors being attachable to the rear wheels of the vehicle, which are not disturbed when the tractor attachment and au` tomobile are operatively associatedv or bodily separated.

@ther and further objects of my invention will become readily apparent, to lpersons skilled in the art, from a consideration of the following description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein Figure 1 isa side elevation of a typical automobile showing my "tractor 'attached thereto. y l

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same.

Patented Sept. 1, 191'?.

driven or live axleis connected to the wheels 11 and 12, as usual in automobiles.

Each tractor unit 16 and 16 contains two side frame members or lates 17 and 18. These members are prefll gether at the rear-by a cross beam or portion 19. .Journaled in the rear portions of the members 17 and 18 is a shaft 20 ywhich oarrles a pair of spaced apart sprocket wheels 21-21 and another driven sprocketwheel 22. 'J ournaled in the 'forward end of the frame composed of the frame members 17 and 18, is a transverse shaft 23 which carries a pair of spaced-apart sprocket wheels 24 and 24. These wheels are spaced apart the same distance as are thewheels 21-21-.

A chain 25 passes over the alining sprocket wheels 21 and 24 4and a chain 26 passes over the alining sprocket wheels 21 and 2i.

rably joined to-` At -suitable intervals traction shoes 27 are cross connected to the links of the chains .to afford bearing surfaces for the'tractor belt.

. When the tractor belt thus made is moved in Fig. 3 is a transverse section of one tractorA unit Aand a rear driving wheel of. the car showing the manner of attachment.

n all the views the same reference -characters areemployed to indicate similar parts.

10 is an automobile having rear driven wheels 11 and -12 supported on the rear live axle at the outer ends of the fixed 'axle 13. These wheels are provided with the usual hubs 14 and okes 15. The-rear axle cas- 11g 13 is relatively stationary and contains ven or live axle' therein. Thistwo part the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle is pro elled forwardly. Jour? naled at a point su stantially central of the vshafts 2O and`23, and in a horizontal plane.

above, is another shaft 28, which terminates on its inner end in a squared or angular head 29. This shaft l call an extension axle because it is to be located in the axial plane of the automobile driving axle. Thisl shaft or axle carries a relatively small s rocket wheel 30, which is connected by a c ain 3 1 to the relatively larger sprocket wheel 22,I the latter being secured to the shaft 20. By this means the tractor belt 37 is propelled at a speed-ratio considerably less than would result if the `sharts 20 and 23 were directly connected to or driven by the automobile axle" without the speed reducing connection. Extending transversely' of the frame members, 17 and 18, and having their ends secured therein are preferably stationary shafts 32, spaced apartand each carrying a roller 33. The rollers are in practically a horizontal line and ad'ord abutments for the upper surfaces of the lower Hight of the tractor belt, when in contact with the earth,

. or roadway over which the machine is being pro elled. The rollers reduce, or substanotherwise produced by the upper surfaces of yaxially extended .into a hub 36;, which is holi .gular socket to admit the hea lowed out to admitjthei Ahubg14 of the automobilewheel 11 or 12. The extended end of the hub 36 is provided with a s uare oran- 29 of the shaft or extended axle 28, so to ositively drive the shaft 28 when the automo ile wheel A without removing the `wheel from the axle of the automobile to Yapply the tractor.

is orotated.. This attaching member is secured tothe wheel by means of adisk 37, located on the opposite-side of the spokes 15 of the wheel and fastenedthereto b`y a plurality of bolts. 38:v The disk '37 andthe member`35 may each be made in two parts, so as to be readily placed upon the 'wheel The two tractor un1ts,f16-16, are connected together by a frame, or casting 40,- which is provided with two like lends. The central portion is provided' with two upwardly extending forked. parts 41 and 42,

for supporting the stationary axle 13, on A each side of the differential, gear casing 43, and another portion 44 for su porting .the axle just .inside the automo ile traction wheels provided with a cap 45 for'securing L the frame .in contact with the stationary axle and having a ortion 46 extending down and around the w eels 11 and 12. The up- I per, outer end of the'casting 40, as at 47, extends around the inner endfof the shaft 28 and is secured in placeby a cap 48, serving as an out board bearing. This portion 46, serves to support the extension shaft beyond the' traction wheels 11 and 12 and it also permits the traction-wheels to be rotat/ed when the engineof the vehicle is oper-A ated and thereby tov serve as fly .wheels for driving the respective tractors.

To remove the vehicleffrom the pair of tractors, joined together by the cross connector 40, it is only necessary to take olf the caps 45 and 48 and Aremove the clamping t of the automobile to the same lextent as the members 35 and 37 and liftthe automobile free of the tractor mechanism. This leaves each of the tractor units 16-'16' unchanged, with reference toits mechanism, so that 1t is onlynecessary to connect ordisconnect the attaching' parts from the automobile to as' soclate and disassociatethe two instrumentalities. V A

It maybe necessary toraise the frontend 3. A plair of organized caterpillar traeeac rear end is raised when my pair of tractors are placed thereunder. I therefore provide for the front end tractor wheels 50, which may be of cast iron, or the like, and' which aresecured to the front wheels 51 of the .automobile .by being bolted between theVv 70.

spokes of said wheel, as at 52, into a twopart plate, similar to plate 37, located on the ,insidev of the wheel.

Itwillofcourse be understood that the' 4same controllingand guiding mechanismem- 75 ployed for the automobile may be used when my tractor` units are connected thereto.

l While I have herein shown a single embodiment of my invention for thel urpose vof clear disclosure,`it will be manifest, to Jpersons skilled'in the art; that many changes in the configuration and dispositionof the partsmay be made, within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described" my invention,what I claim is l 1. A tractor for attachment to a ower. driven vehicle having a frame apd lven axle, said tractor comprisingl an extension `rshaft coaxial with an end-of t e driven axle, means connected with the'vehicle for supporting the shaft, a connectionbetween t e shaft-and axle, a tractor frame journaled on the shaft, anendless link belt .carriedby the tractor frame, anda drivin connection between the link belt and sha 2. A tractor attachment for a power driven vehicle having -a driven axle, an axle housing, and wheels on the -ends of the axle, said attachment comprising a frame connected with the axle housing and projecting -axially beyond the wheels, extension shafts .coaxial with the driven axle and journaled in the ends of the frame, means connecting the wheels with the shafts, tractor frames journaled on the shafts, an endless. link belt in each tractorl frame, and driving connec- ,tions between the shafts and link belt'.v

tors?, comprisingl two frame plates; a

air .of spaced-apart sprocket wheels rotataly su portedin-each end ofthe frame; a 'pair o tractor chains having tractor shoesA secured thereto, supported on saidv wheels; an extension axle, located in said frame between said pairs -of rocket wheels, upon which the tractor is plv'ote'd; means to conheet said extension axle to the driving axle of an automobile, and -a frame for sup orting therear end of the automobile w1 its `cured thereto at intenda-supported on said 12o wheels free of the ground, and for holding Q said. tractors in1spaced-a'prft'relation.v

:lamanon a at Wheels; an extension axle, located in said frame between said pair of sprocket wheels, upon which the tractor is pivoted; a speedreducing driving means connecting one pair 5 ofrsaid sprocket .Wheels with the said extension axle; means to connect thesaid exf tension axle to the driving axle of an auto mobile and a frame forfsupporting the rear end of anautomobile with its Wheels free of the ground, and for holding the said tracio tors in spaced-apart relation.

In testimony whereof l hereunto et my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

l i'i D. PEMAN. `Inthe presence of* EDGAR HAPEMAN,

FORE BAIN.. 

